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Portland Film Festival Returns! Sept. 1 – 7 Preview

Zombies! Madness! Faeries! Reggae!

Portland Film Fest returns, in its 3rd incarnation, cementing its place as a cultural tour de force and earning its reputation as one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals In The World 2014” from MovieMaker Magazine. Portland is at an interesting crossroads in its cultural evolution. On one hand, it is the run-down, rusted, gloomy, economically-depressed and overly-tattoed old school version of itself, which we all know and love. On the other, it is a shining mecca for the 21st Century, a beacon of progressiveness, DIY ethos, and collaborative creative communities. Read More

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FEAR THE WALKING DEAD “So Close, Yet So Far” Recap/Review

“Can I have my knife back now?” – Tobias

The action heats up quick, like a saucepan full of nitroglycerin on the stovetop, as the contagion begin to spread. And we haven’t seen anything yet. “So Close, Yet So Far” leaves behind the family melodrama of “Pilot”, or rather, it imports it into this new world that is beginning to form as the old one decays, both with a bang and a whimper. Read More

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FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, Episode 1 ‘Pilot’ Recap/Review

“What the hell is going on?” – Madison

“I have no idea.” – Travis

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Imagine waking up in some unfamiliar place, dazed and disoriented. You stumble downstairs to a charnel house of cadavers, finding one of your good friends chewing off another friend’s face. What would you do? This cognitive dissonance, this mammalian panic terror is the core of what makes Fear The Walking Dead so deadly effective, as well as what separates it from its mothership. Read More

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Out in Theaters: AMERICAN ULTRA

Everybody knows that smoking weed can make you paranoid. And anybody who’s spent much time in Cannabis Culture probably knows that guy, who spends too much time getting high, drawing weird comics and spouting weird theories. But what if those weird, paranoid theories turned out to be true? This is the premise around which Nima Nourizadeh‘s unlikely new stoner/action/comedy/romance American Ultra is built, and ultimately succeeds. Read More

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Out In Theaters: THE GIFT

Joel Edgerton‘s edgy horror/psychological thriller unravels the commitment-phobic fears of modern living, turning the clear divisions between protagonist/antagonist on its head in the process.

Have you ever run into an old school chum, perhaps while visiting your hometown? This old friend seems way more invested, eager to “catch up” and pick up where you left off, oblivious of the fact that you may have a wife, kids, a job, commitments a-plenty, and just don’t have time to kick back and spark one up on the couch, reflecting on old times? But what if your old friend is going through a rough patch and just needs a friendly face and a sympathetic ear? Here’s your chance to do the right thing and be a true friend, but too often, we falter, succumbing to the fear of wasting our precious, precious time. Read More

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Disney Does Dubstep: DESCENDENTS Debuts

Disney’s Descendants plays like an extended 2-hour pop music meditation, updating the classic Disney Princess Magic Kingdom with Deadmau5 dubstep and Sia Fuller hyperpop, that is ultimately utterly likable.

Descendants is a made-for-TV feature length film, debuting on July 31, 2015 to an audience of 6.6 million, despite underground murmurings and protestations leading up to the pop spectacle. Descendants tells the story of the offspring of four of the main Disney Villains – the Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy), Cruella De Vil (Wendy Raquel Robinson), Jafar (Maz Jobrani), and Maleficent (Kristin Chenoweth). The kids – Evie (Sofia Carson), Carlos (Cameron Boyce), Jay (Booboo Stewart), and Mal (Dove Cameron) – have grown up in the Isle Of The Lost, cut off from magic. Read More

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Out In Theaters: LUCKY STIFF

Lucky Stiff, from director Christopher Ashley, is a hard sell. It’s a dark comedic adaptation of an off-off broadway musical, from the creative team who would go on to create Ragtime. The musical numbers and between scene animations derail the normal slice-of-life grittiness that carries a lot of dark comedies, however, while the musical numbers are not intricate or tuneful enough to eradicate the criticisms usually leveled at musical theater. Critics of either dark comedies or musical theater should turn their attention elsewhere for an evening’s entertainment, as Lucky Stiff is unlikely to create new converts. But it is not without its charms. Read More

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The Beauty of WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE and Studio Ghibli’s Lasting Legacy

What a beautiful film.

When Marnie Was There is the most recent, and possibly last, feature length film from the legendary anime production company Studio Ghibli. It is a coming-of-age tale, a journey of self-discovery and healing, a ghost story, and a love story… but not the kind you might think. Read More

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ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Season 3, Episode 2 Recap “Bed Bugs and Beyond”

Cooties; Cat fights; Relapses; Double-crossing; French fries at gun point; An ill-advised proposal; Burning Books; And some very, very bad news…

An entire female population in their underwear, a gum wrapper proposal, cat fights and hate sex in a condemned library are not nearly as much fun as they sound, in ‘Bed Bugs And Beyond.’

[This recap will discuss ‘Bed Bugs And Beyond’’ in detail, and may contain spoilers. Be advised.]

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ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Season 3, Episode 1 Recap “Mother’s Day”

In which old friends return, people move on, plots are hatched and parties are planned, as Caputo’s “kinder, gentler regime” struggles to take hold.

Mother’s Day can be one of the hardest, as well as most exciting, days of the year in a women’s penitentiary. Inmates with children get to see how much their kids have grown, while also being reminded how powerless and trapped they are behind razor wire.

It’s a time for reflection, for remembering, which serves as an excellent re-introduction to the complex, convoluted world of Litchfield Penitentiary, in the brand new season of Jenji Kohan’s Orange Is The New Black.

[This recap will discuss ‘Mother’s Day’ in detail, and may contain spoilers. Be advised.]

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